


Traditional Heart

by buckysknifecollection



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Smut, Kissing, Oral Sex, Tattoo Artist Steve Rogers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-10-17 04:42:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 18,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20615162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckysknifecollection/pseuds/buckysknifecollection
Summary: Steve Rogers is a successful tattoo artist, who can easily say all his dreams have come true. Brie is a receptionist with too many dreams to count, but you can be sure her cat knows all about them. Despite being so different from each other, somehow everything clicks.





	1. Two worlds

**Author's Note:**

> {{This piece was reposted from my Tumblr blog buckysknifecollection.tumblr.com}}
> 
> I consider Brie a "named reader" but really, let's just call her an OC and call it a day.

Steve Rogers could wholeheartedly say all of his dreams had come true.

First of all, he wasn’t the small, sickly kid anymore. With his doctor’s and trainer’s help, most of the issues that had kept him in bed for most of his childhood have disappeared. He’s shot up quite a few inches in his teens and bulked up over the years, which was always a bonus. 

Second, he had always loved art and wanted to be an artist. One would never see him leave the house without his trusty sketchpad and a couple pencils. When he was about ten and met a gentleman in the park, who was covered in tattoos, Steve found his calling in life. He decided that day that he would become a tattoo artist. Many years of learning and practise later, he did just that.

And third, and the one dream he was most proud of, was his own tattoo studio. The Howling Commando has proudly existed for a couple of years now and was going incredibly well. It was busy enough that he had three more artists working with him full-time and their hands were quite literally full.

His partners in crime? Bucky, Sam and Natasha. Friends since childhood, inseparable, all of them. Each of them ended up specialising in different styles, making their studio one of the most popular ones in Brooklyn, if not all of New York.

What often surprised their customers was the fact that The Howling Commando had it’s home at the end of an otherwise completely empty alley, just off the main street. There used to be a Chinese take-out place next to them, but that too closed down about half a year ago. Now all that was left of nearby businesses in the mostly residential area was the small convenience store around the corner and a coffee shop a block away.

Walking down the abandoned alley felt quite lonely, even creepy in the evenings. Which was why this morning, as Steve was making his way from Vers Coffee, large takeaway cup in hand, nose buried in his phone, he was surprised to notice the scaffolding that covered the building directly opposite from his studio.

He looked around for any information as to what was happening, but when he found nothing, he headed inside the studio to start off his day.

The reception area of The Howling Commando gave off quite a dark vibe in comparison to it’s usually cheerful and playful employees and visitors. When Steve first came to check out the place almost three years ago, the checkered white and red floor and black walls really spoke to him and he decided to keep them, only doing some polishing and putting on a fresh coat of paint on the walls. 

To make the place look more “artsy and cool”, the walls were covered in framed designs, photos of the artists working or shots of them at conventions. By the storefront windows stood two comfortable leather couches, where Steve often lounged if there weren’t any customers around. 

In the center of the room stood a tall counter made of dark wood with the studio’s logo painted on it (courtesy of one Natalia Romanoff), behind which the reception desk was hidden, usually littered with designs, calendars, notebooks and coffee stained cups that have seen better days. Steve didn’t really care as long as all the appointments and paperwork were done properly and that, fortunately, was one of the many talents of the person that usually occupied said desk.

“Morning, Wan.” He mumbled, walking through the door.

“Oh hey, Steve! You’re early today!” The studio’s receptionist and self-proclaimed biggest fan, Wanda, greeted him from her seat, her head just barely poking out from behind the counter.

“Got some designs to work on. Hey, what’s happening across the street?” Steve pointed behind him at the construction site. 

If there was anyone who’d know anything - it was Wanda. Her and her twin brother Pietro have lived in the area since kindergarten and since they were both extremely friendly, people tended to open up to them about pretty much anything. Between Wanda at the studio and Pietro in Vers Coffee, Steve has given up on the local news websites long time ago.

She shrugged, for once not having any answers. “They put up the scaffolding over the weekend, but no one knows what’s it going to be.”

“I would really appreciate a new restaurant. The convenience store sandwiches don’t impress me.” Said Natasha, as she entered the studio with Bucky following.

“You should try cooking sometime, Tash, ya know, like us adults.” He snickered as he passed her, only narrowly avoiding the swat coming at his head. He beelined straight for the backroom and Steve heard his and Sam’s usual yells of greeting.

“Anyway, it better not be another tattoo place or it will mean war.” Wanda held up her pen threateningly, the look in her eyes making it seem more lethal than it probably was.

“Well, whatever it is, it’ll be nice to see some people around here. It’s like a damn ghost town outside.” Steve sighed as he gently took the pen from Wanda and pointedly set it back down on the counter. “I’m gonna get to work. Tell me when my 10 o'clock is here, yeah?”

“Uuhhhh…” She shifted a bunch of papers around the desk and held up a small spider design. “Peter?“ 

"Yep, that’s the one.” Steve said as he disappeared behind the silky black curtain separating the waiting area from the backroom where each of the artists had their own corner. 

Sam was sprawled out on the hydraulic chair in his corner, scrolling through his phone, while Bucky was going off about whatever news he brought from the small tattoo convention he attended upstate over the weekend.

With their usual low five, Steve greeted Sam and moved to his own desk where his sketchpad was still sitting from the night before. He dumped his bag next to it, hung his jacket on the hanger right next to his little gallery of his favourite works and various pictures that never fail to make him smile. Like the one of him drawing terribly shaped dinosaurs with a sharpie all over 8-year-old Bucky’s leg.

Steve settled down in his chair, turned on his lamp and got to work, all other thoughts temporarily pushed out of his head in favour of the complicated design he had to finish.

_ _ _ _

A little over two weeks after the mysterious construction site stirred up their peaceful street, Steve was sprawled out on of the couch up front, sketching mindlessly, not really paying attention to his surroundings. He didn’t have any appointments that day but didn’t feel like sitting at home.

Since the scaffolding was dismantled and furniture was moved into the new business a few days earlier, both Steve and Wanda were scouting out to figure out what the place was supposed to be. It looked pristine and serious, a shocking contrast to the Commando. A sign appeared above the door, reading Coulson & Co., in a very generic font that Steve wasn’t a fan of.

“Maybe it’s one of those massage parlours? Ya know, for rich housewives.” Wanda mused as she sipped on her coffee, eyes fixed on the laptop in front of her.

“Nah, didn’t see any beds being moved in. Maybe it’s counselling?” Steve looked up from his sketch, humor sparkling in his eyes. “We should send Buck and Sam over.”

“We can hear you!” Sam yelled from behind the curtain, where was busy with one of his regulars - a feisty but friendly personal trainer named Gamora.

“And we don’t appreciate your input into our relationship!” Bucky added, sending both Steve and Wanda into a fit of giggles.

“Oh! Look!” Wanda gasped and excitedly pointed outside, Steve immediately sitting up to get a good look at what was going on.

Nat had emerged from behind the curtain and joined Steve on the couch, whistling at the little group of people in dark suits on the street. “Our new neighbours?” She asked in a voice perfectly suitable for a spy on a mission.

Three women and three men stood there, all dressed sharp and intimidating, one of the men explaining something to the others, looking very excited. After a few minutes of talking, he opened the door and let his company inside, but he himself took a brisk walk across the street straight to the Howling Commando. When Steve and Natasha realised this, they quickly jumped away from the window, hiding behind the backrest of the couch like eavesdropping teenagers who were almost caught.

“Hello!” The man exclaimed once he was inside. He looked around the waiting room, and hummed appreciatively at the decor, before his eyes fell on the two people almost hanging off the couch in attempt to not be spotted through the window and he extended his right hand towards them.

“I’m Phil Coulson, owner of Coulson & Co. Nice to meet you!” Steve quickly scrambled into a proper standing position and shook Phil’s hand, making the best attempt at a polite smile.

“Steve Rogers.” While the man greeted Natasha, who also managed to shake off her surprise and stand up, Steve remembered that they still had no clue what Coulson & Co was even supposed to be. “Um, sorry, but may I ask what you business…is? It doesn’t say anything on the sign…”

Phil chuckled. “Ah, yes, we should probably add something there before people start bringing death certificates in.” Steve had to admit the man had quite the sense of humor.

“So you’re not a funeral home?” Wanda called from behind the counter. 

“No, young lady, we’re lawyers. If any of you ever get in trouble, feel free to come over.” Steve wasn’t sure if that was a joke. “Anyway, I better be going. Don’t get in trouble!” With that, Coulson left as suddenly as he appeared, leaving the trio in a stunned silence.

_ _ _ _ 

Despite their first weird impression of Phil Coulson, he and his coworkers seemed nice enough. They’d greet people on the street and often exchange friendly small talk if they met anyone from Steve’s crew in Vers Coffee.

Natasha quickly became friends with a woman named Melinda that woke a lot of respect with a tinge of fear in Steve whenever he had the chance to see her. Sam and Bucky declared they have enough weird friends and didn’t really bother being any more than civil, which didn’t surprise Steve at all.

What was a surprise though was a member of Coulson’s team that joined them about a week after the office opened. 

Steve spotted her that day, running inside, her cute blue dress looking completely out of place in the stern environment of an office. She quickly moved to the reception desk situated right at the floor to ceiling window by the entrance, fixed whatever hair escaped her up-do and made herself look busy, like she’s been there longer than thirty seconds.

Right behind her, Coulson entered the office and Steve saw him speak to the girl. The surprise on her face was adorable when her boss caught her being late, although Coulson was smiling, so Steve guessed she wouldn’t be in much trouble. 

Then, after exchanging a few words, she smiled in the most adorable way Steve had ever seen and he sort of wished he could see that smile from a bit closer than across the street.

Steve shook his head, trying to rid himself of the thoughts that suddenly flooded his mind. 

He’s been so focused on work and art for the past few years, he hasn’t really dated much and it’s been months since he’s last been on a date. Maybe the reason he was so enchanted now was because he was starting to feel lonely?

He ran his fingers through his hair with a frustrated huff and tried his best to concentrate on the sketch before him instead of the pretty stranger. _Tried _was definitely a keyword, because he couldn’t stop thinking about talking to her for the rest of the day, which lead to at least three sketches of a figure in a blue dress running down a street.

_ _ _ _ 

Brie rushed out of the bus and down the street, frantically looking for the coffee shop Phil had told her about when he was giving her directions to his new office.

She should’ve been in the office about fifteen minutes ago, but she couldn’t help it if getting to Brooklyn all the way from Queens was literal hell in the morning traffic. Okay, so _maybe _she could’ve woken up earlier or skipped her morning routine of cuddling her red tabby cat George for half an hour, but in her defense, George can be _very _persistent.

Maybe Phil would look past her being late on her first day if she reminded him what a wonderful sort-of-uncle he is. Maybe she’d buy him lunch later as an apology too.

She decided to wear a bright blue dress she usually wore for family parties, which should have made her look more put together, but really, she felt like she was a corsage away from looking like a teen late to prom. Even though she wasn’t a lawyer and didn’t need to look like a shark in court, she decided buying a few work-appropriate outfits was in order once her first paycheck arrives.

She passed the coffee shop and turned into a small alley next to a sign pointing to a tattoo studio. _Must be the right place, Phil did mention a tattoo place._

Brie has always loved art in pretty much all its forms, but she remained a silent admirer after too many failed attempts at creating art herself. She was never happy with the outcome and so the grand dream of being a world-wide famous painter died a natural death.

Thanks to her mom’s friend, Phil Coulson, Brie was hired as a receptionist at his new law firm. Not the most exciting job, but it should pay the bills for her tiny studio apartment and feed her and the cat, so she didn’t complain.

Speaking of exciting, Brie always had a tendency to daydream about exciting things happening wherever she went. Whenever she was on her way to a new place, she would always daydream about something happening, like her meeting awesome people or running into a gorgeous person that would steal her heart away. 

So maybe Brie spent too much time watching rom-coms with George. Her mom always did call her a romantic disaster.

She ran inside the office, thankful there was no one there to see her, she quickly sat at her desk and fixed her hair a bit. She moved around some things set on the desk already and was about to pull out the personal planner she spent way too much time on, when Phil strolled in through the door, smirking at her knowingly.

“Hello, Brie. Good to see you made it on time.” Oh, she knew that tone. He knew she was late.

“You saw me from the coffee shop, didn’t you?” She sighed in defeat.

“Yep. But I’m willing to pretend you were on time if you bring me some of those coconut cookies you make.”

“A fresh box of them will be on your desk tomorrow morning.” Brie beamed at him. He probably shouldn’t be so eager to be bribed, seeing as he was a lawyer.

Phil handed her a set of files he wanted copied and she immediately got to it, not wanting to push her luck too much. While she was waiting for the fresh copies to be spit out of the copy machine, she glanced outside, taking a chance to get a better look at the storefront on the other side of the street.

There, in the window of the tattoo studio, looking very concentrated on something she couldn’t see, sat probably the most gorgeous man she has ever seen in her life. 

She couldn’t see much of him, as he was mostly hidden away by the couch he was sitting on, bit his profile looked very handsome, his jaw looked sharp enough to cut and his hair was a pretty golden mess she’d just love to run her fingers through.

As she watched him, it looked like he was drawing something. When he sat back a bit and bit his lower lip as he inspected whatever he was working on, Brie breathed out an O_h my God_. Then, her knees almost gave out when he lifted a toned, tattooed arm and ran a hand through his fluffy hair. 

Was it even legal to look that good? It couldn’t be. She should totally check in with Jemma and make sure.

Despite her love of rom-coms, Brie wasn’t normally one to instantly fall for people, and she definitely wasn’t actively searching for someone to date. But one look at that mysterious man made her want to drop Phil’s files and run across the street.

Her inner struggle was interrupted by a loud wheezing noise the copy machine gave out, which made her panic and frantically look for the source of the issue, while a string of swears left her lips.

By the time she got the situation under control and the documents were printing as they should, the man had disappeared from the window. With a disappointed sigh, she flopped back on her chair to sort through the stack of papers, trying _very _hard not to stare out the window every few minutes.


	2. Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THEY FINALLY TALK AN THEY ARE BOTH FOOLS

Steve maneuvered his way out into the reception area, careful not to damage the large sheet of paper in hands. He’s been working on this design for almost a month, given it’s many details, size and the multiple changes the client had asked for. “Wan, what’s the name of the guy who wanted this spaceship?”

“Didn’t he introduce himself to you?” Wanda asked as she looked through the appointments book.

“He said it’s _Starlord_.” Steve sighed in frustration. Sometimes their clients had weird nicknames and it was a pet peeve of his. There’s no way this guy introduced himself as Starlord to people, right? “Anyway, doesn’t matter. Can you find his number for me?”

Wanda quickly found all the details on the laptop and Steve grabbed the headset to call his client just as Natasha came back from her break at Vers Coffee.

“Potential new customer outside.” She rubbed her hands together in excitement. 

Natasha was competitive by nature and for some reason she had a hobby of counting how many customers each of them had. Bucky called it her own dick measuring competition and he probably wasn’t wrong. At least she always made a gift basket for whoever won each year and she was always fair about it.

Wanda looked up to the windows and snickered. “I think that one’s Steve’s.”

He turned around, as he waited for the call to connect. His jaw dropped to the floor, when he saw the person in front of the window.

“_Hello, this is Starlord._” The man on the phone answered, but Steve was frozen in place. There she was. The pretty girl from across the street.

Yet again, she looked so adorable, it immediately brought a smile to Steve’s face. This time she was dressed more casually, in jeans and a flowy white blouse. She was looking at the design samples they had displayed in the windows, sipping on an iced coffee and seemed completely unaware that Steve was staring at her like an idiot who’s never seen a girl before.

“_Helloooooo_?” He handed the phone to Wanda, who was struggling not to burst into laughter. Natasha grabbed the sheet of paper he was holding before it could get crumpled and fall on the floor and they both watched him mindlessly walk towards the door.

Wanda of course knew all about Steve’s little crush. She was always there when he would hang out on the couch, staring out the window instead of working on his projects. She quickly connected the dots and figured out who Steve was pining for. He wasn’t exactly hiding it either. 

Alright, _maybe _he was hiding it from Sam and Bucky because he knew they’d never let him live if they knew.

And it’s not like he was being a creep either, he always liked that particular couch. It just so happened that the reception desk at Coulson & Co. was in direct sight from _Steve’s _usual spot.

Steve didn’t know what he was doing, he didn’t even think. His brain stayed right there on the counter while the rest of him jogged for the door in hope of finally talking to her. He saw her move from one display to another, admiring all the different tattoo designs there.

The moment Steve stepped out the door, he realised he had no clue what to say to her. _Hey wanna get inked? _No. He didn’t want to sound like some shady tout trying to coerce her into some shady business.

He was glad she seemed so lost in thought she didn’t even notice him standing there, staring at her and trying to figure out what to say. He leaned against the storefront, trying to look nonchalant and crossed his arms over his chest but decided he might look too menacing and shoved his palms in his pockets instead. He took a deep breath and spoke to her in the most flirty voice he could manage.

_ _ _ _

“See something you like?” A voice startled Brie from her inner debate about which style she liked the most. 

Brie didn’t even notice anyone standing next to her so when she looked up, she could feel the soul leave her body. There he stood - the handsome tattooed guy was right in front of her and he looked even better up close. She forgot herself for a moment, too mesmerised by his blue eyes to be a sociable human being. He awkwardly cleared his throat, trying to get an answer out of her.

“Oh! Hi! Um- No, I- They’re beautiful! I don’t think I’d be brave enough to get one though!” Brie rambled out of embarrassment. She was going to be so cool when she finally got to talk to him! And she _blew _it!

“Lots of people have said that before, so I won’t hold you to it.” Mr Handsome, as she took to calling him, winked at her. _He winked at her_.

“Hah, yeah, um- did you draw these? They’re really pretty!” Brie pointed at one of the posters, not really paying attention which one, she just wanted to keep the conversation going a bit longer. 

He looked away, towards the designs she was pointing at, and she felt like she could finally let out a breath she didn’t even realise she was holding in. He didn’t seem too happy with the designs she picked.

“Uh, no, watercolour are Natasha’s specialty. I do stuff like this.” He pointed at a different poster, full of traditional style designs, a shy smile curling the corners of his lips, which Brie found adorable.

How did he manage to look adorable, while being all tall, muscle and sharp jawline?

With a bit of a struggle, she tore her eyes off him, eager to see which art was his. “Oh! Those are, uh, really… _bold_. But very nice!” _Where’s the end of the world when you need a sudden opening in the ground to swallow you?_

He cleared his throat again. “Thanks, well, if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me.” He pointed his thumb at the entrance behind him and if Brie’s lunchbreak wasn’t almost over, she’d probably follow him to the other end of the universe.

“Um, yeah, thank you. Have a nice day!” She waved at him, and turned to leave but right as she reached the curb, he called after her again.

“I’m Steve, by the way!“ 

Brie turned around, took one last good look at him and smiled. He looked good. “Nice to meet you Steve. I’m Brie.”

“S-see you around!” She heard him say right before the office door closed behind her.

_ _ _ _

Steve watched the glass door slide closed behind her and took a deep breath, letting his panicked mind settle. Brie. _Cute_. 

When he turned around, the smile was wiped off his face as he stared in the three faces of Cerberus. Natasha, Bucky and Sam were blocking the entrance, Wanda jumping behind them in an attempt to see.

“What?” Steve demanded, although he knew exactly what was coming.

“Hi, Brie, you are very cute! Wanna see my studio?” Nat spoke in a deep mock-Steve voice that sounded _nothing _like him.

“Yeah, Brie, lemme sketch you something!” Sam batted his lashes at Steve, who only narrowed his eyes at him.

“Lemme put my hands on you, Brie!” Bucky wiggled his fingers at Steve and earned himself a lethal glare.

“I hate you and you are all fired.” Steve grumbled and pushed past them back inside the store as they all snickered behind him. They’d never let him live this down.

By the time his friends were starting to get bored with mocking his entire existence, his customer had arrived so at least for the next two hours, he’d be free of torture and could concentrate on his job. 

That didn’t stop him from settling back on his couch the very second his customer was out the door. He couldn’t see Brie anywhere though, so he turned to scrolling through his phone like the sad sap he was.

There was a single thought that was nagging Steve all day to no end and he couldn’t push it away no matter what he did. He wasn’t sure if the first impression he made on Brie was a positive one. She seemed very nervous and left quickly, their conversation couldn’t have lasted more than a two minutes. He hasn’t seen her at her desk for the rest of the day either and he was worried that maybe she didn’t even want to see him.

“Stop sulking.” Wanda spoke from the desk, not even taking her eyes off the laptop.

Steve scoffed. “I’m not sulking.”

“Yes you are. You’ve been sitting there all afternoon and sulking. I bet there are tear stains on the windowsill.” She laughed at the thought and Steve discreetly looked behind the backrest, just to make sure there weren’t actually any.

Steve didn’t really feel it necessary to discuss, but he was kind of getting sick of thinking everything through by himself. Maybe a second opinion would put him out his misery. He knew he could be honest with Wanda, too. She never judged or laughed at anyone, and gave surprisingly good advice for such a young girl.

“I’m worried.“ 

"Let me guess, you think she’s scared of you.” She finally looked up at him, but he wouldn’t meet her eyes. 

It wouldn’t be the first time a person Steve was interested in felt intimidated by him. He was tall and muscular and his arms were covered in tattoos. Lots of people found that intimidating. Plus he had a tendency to look pissed off when he was concentrating or just lost in his thoughts.

Wanda closed the laptop and sat next to him on the couch. “Steve, you are a literal puppy. There’s no way anyone could be intimidated by you. I bet she’s just shy.”

Out of habit more than anything else, Steve glanced out the window for what felt like the hundredth time that day only to spot Brie at her desk, already looking at him, blushing at getting caught and turning away quickly.

Warmth bloomed in his chest at the sight and he sighed. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

Steve knew he was a goner. He was okay with it though.

_ _ _ _

“What’s with you?” Jemma asked, her voice laced with humor, as she entered the break room. Brie groaned, not even bothering to lift her face from where she was hiding it in her hands.

Jemma’s spoke softly as she neared the table Brie was sitting at. “Are you alright? Did something happen?”

“I messed up, Jemma.” 

“I’m listening.” The woman sat at the table, giving Brie her full attention.

“So you know that studio on the other side of the road?” Jemma noded. “Well, there’s this guy, he works there, and he’s really handsome, so I - ”

Jemma’s gasp and excited squeal interrupted Brie’s already painful explanation. “Oh my gosh! Do you have a crush on him?”

“Mmmaybe, but I spoke to him earlier and I messed up, Jems.”

“How could you possibly mess up?” She scoffed as if the idea of Brie messing anything up personally offended her. And it probably did, considering the two of them have been friends for a few years now and they had the tendency to hype each other up like a pair of drunk girls in a club’s bathroom.

“Well, we were sort of talking about those designs they’ve got displayed and I think I upset him because I think he thinks I don’t like his designs and it’s not that, I - “

Jemma lifted a hand to halt the rambling. “Stop.”

Brie shut her mouth and groaned again.

“I doubt you’ve upset him. First meetings are often awkward, maybe you should just try and talk to him again? Ask him out for a coffee?” She offered, her fingers soothingly running through Brie’s hair.

“But what if he doesn’t wanna talk with awkward lil me?” Brie whined. She really wanted to talk to him again - she couldn’t stop thinking about that handsome smile of his. And she didn’t really think Steve would be opposed to talk to her again - he was the one to approach her first after all, but the embarrassment was still too fresh for her to think rationally.

“Why wouldn’t he? You’re adorable.” Jemma clapped her hands in a quick motion, a sign that this moping session was over. “Now, I know just the thing to stop your stressing.”

“And what is that?”

“Game night!” She made a few mock shooting noises, pointing finger guns at Charlie, as she retreated back to her office. And she was right, Brie didn’t feel like stressing anymore.

Brie refilled her coffee cup and went back to her desk, where stuff needed organising before she could call it a day. One last time, she thought, as she peeked out the window, in search of the object of her affections.

She hasn’t seen him all day since they spoke at lunchtime and she hated to admit that she missed seeing him. But there he was, speaking to a girl sat next to him - Brie recognised her as their own receptionist. 

Suddenly, Steve turned to the window as well and Brie’s face burned red when their eyes met. With a gasp, she turned back to her work, even more embarrassed now that she was caught staring.

_ _ _ _ 

For the next few weeks, Steve didn’t get a chance to talk to Brie again, in fact, he barely ever saw her. The studio was busy, so he didn’t have time to lounge around and it seemed like the law firm was busy too.

He saw her a few times in the late afternoons, when he would take a break. She was usually busy with something on her computer or sorting through documents. Every time he saw her slump tiredly over her desk, Steve felt bad for her. He didn’t like seeing her tired, and he missed seeing her blinding smile.

Today was a bit quieter and Steve finally had the chance to warm up his favourite couch, scrolling through his phone in search of a mind-numbing distraction. The distraction stormed through the door only moments later, a string of russian swears following her every step.

“Hey Nat.” He mumbled, not looking up at her.

“Oh my God, Natasha! What happened?!” Wanda’s terrified gasp made Steve put away his phone to pay attention to the commotion in the room.

When he noticed the state Natasha was in, his blood ran cold. There was dried blood under her nose and on her knuckles, her hair was the worst mess he had ever seen and her lip was split. Her clothes were intact, except there was more blood on them, and her white shirt was stained with brown liquid.

Steve shot up from his sit and was at her side in a second, gently cupping her face and examining the damage.

“Who did this to you, Natasha?” He growled protectively, but she simply tsked at him and batted his hands away.

“I got in a bar fight.”

“At five in the afternoon?!” She shrugged and went around him towards the bathroom.

Steve followed her and waited in front of the door while she cleaned herself up. 

“Why didn’t you go to the ER or something?” He asked. Sure they had a first aid kit at the shop, but he didn’t really feel qualified to patch Nat up. Bucky was the expert in that and him and Sam had a day off.

“The injuries aren’t that serious, no point wasting the nurses’ time.” Nat huffed in frustration while she struggled with some band aids. “Plus, I’m not the one with a broken nose.”

“You broke somebody’s nose?!” Steve’s voice went up at least two octaves.

“Hey, he had it coming. You know how Brock gets sometimes.” Nat continued looking unbothered as she cleaned the blood off her face.

“You broke _Rumlow’s _nose?! Natasha!” 

“Quit stressing, Steve. There’s something else we should worry about.”

That had Steve unable to stand still. He paced frantically in front of the slightly opened bathroom door. “No. No no, I don’t wanna worry about anything else. Why did you even go there if you know you can’t stand Rumlow?”

“My date wanted to go there and it was happy hour!”

Steve took a deep breath in preparation to what else would Natasha throw at him. “Okay, so what else is there to worry about?”

“He’s pressing charges.”

“Oh for _fuck’s _sake!”

_ _ _ _

The waiting room of Coulson & Co reminded Steve of a hospital, of all places. The walls were white and the white blinds were pulled down to cover the windows, blocking out the warm colours of the sunset. The modern looking sofa chairs looked completely uninviting, with their rough beige cushions and they made Steve miss his favourite couch at the studio. There were a few potted plants in the corners of the room, but they looked too green and Steve wondered if they were fake.

The stern atmosphere was cut through by a cheerful voice, belonging to the one person in the office that didn’t entirely stress Steve out.

“Steve! Hi!” Brie greeted him from where she was making copies. Her smile faltered a bit when she spotted the redhead next to him, but she remained professional.

“Hi, Brie, uh, I was wondering if we could speak to one of the lawyers.” He involuntarily rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous tick of his. Brie nodded and gathered the documents she was working with.

Only when she stepped closer, did she notice how much blood was on Natasha’s shirt. “Oh my God! What happened to you?!”

“She got in a fight.” Steve explained, Nat just huffed irritably and settled herself on one of the pale seats.

“Fight?! With whom?!” It’s not like Brie knew that many people in the area, but she asked almost out of instinct.

“I went to Rumlow’s bar. He was a dick, so I punched him. Big deal.” Natasha grumbled and crossed her arms defensively. Everyone was making such a big deal out of the situation and she just wanted to go home and change into her sweats already.

“Natasha, you can’t go to jail, you are booked till the end of next month.” Steve scolded her and Brie got the vibe that this wasn’t the first time she’d gotten in trouble.

The appointments weren’t even that important, they could easily be rescheduled if need be, but Steve learned that that particular threat was one of the few things that had an effect on Natasha. She always waved off any actual concerns for her wellbeing, saying she’s fine and she’s managing, but where her art and job were involved? There was no room for jokes.

Meanwhile, Brie looked through the appointments book and noticed they wouldn’t be able to be seen by anyone until at least next month and that was just stupid. Good thing Phil was easily bribed with baked goods, which just so happened to be one of Brie’s talents.

“Okay. Technically I should book you in for an appointment, but my boss is still here so I’ll just go ask him if he can at least speak with you.”

“Thank you so much.” Steve breathed out as Brie moved to the back of the office to find Phil. They both came back only a couple minutes later.

“Good evening! I did say not to get in trouble, didn’t I?” Phil chuckled, but when no one answered his joke, he switched to his professional tone. “How can I help you, ma’am?”

Natasha shrugged like her current situation was nothing new. “The guy I punched is pressing charges.”

“May I ask why did you punch him?" 

"He touched me without permission.” That was when Natasha completely won Phil over. If there’s one thing he would never stand for, was anyone touching a person without their consent.

“Well, considering the circumstances, I believe this should be an easy case. Mind joining me in my office? I need to take down some details so I can build your file.” Natasha followed him without a word, leaving Steve standing awkwardly in the entrance.

“Um, you can wait here if you want. Help yourself to a drink.” Brie pointed at the little coffee nook set up in the corner.

Steve had enough adrenaline in his blood thanks to Natasha’s adventure, so he opted to stay away from any caffeine. He settled himself on one of the chairs - they were just as stiff and uncomfortable as he expected. He looked around, trying to find something to focus on while he waits, but now that Natasha’s fate seemed to be in good hands, his mind kept wandering to the same person it would wander to pretty much all the time.

Brie was typing something on the computer and the constant clicking sounded an awful lot like the ticking of a clock in Steve’s mind. A clock that has been nagging him for weeks to finally make a move and ask her out. 

But what if she said no? Steve would probably have to find a new location for his studio and possibly throw himself in a pool full of piranhas.

With a final glance at Brie’s distracted, pretty face, he decided to suck it up and do what he’s wanted to do since the first time they spoke to each other.

He stood up and walked over to her desk, so fast, she didn’t have enough time notice him before he spoke.

“Hey…do you… wanna go out for lunch sometime? There’s this really nice coffee shop a block away- um, you probably know it already.” _Deep breaths, Rogers._ ”I was wondering if you’d like to go out? With me?”

She stared up at him in shock, her hands frozen above the keyboard. Steve instinctively wanted to kick himself - his sudden question must have been completely out of place, since she was at work and, technically, right now he was a customer.

“I- You don’t owe me anything, you know? For helping your friend, I mean. I’m just doing my job.” She spoke softly and it was the last thing Steve expected to hear.

“What-? No- I know, I just…” _Take those deep breaths already, Rogers._ “ I just think you’re really cute and I really wanted to ask you out for a while now.”

“Oh.”

_Oh no. He messed up._ “You don’t have to say yes! That’s- that’s okay, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Forget I said anything." 

"No! No, I do want to! I was just surprised. I’d love to!” There was that smile he’s been missing. And he was right - it’s even cuter up close. Steve was itching to touch the tiny dimple that appeared on Brie’s cheek.

They agreed to have their lunch breaks at the same time the next day and go to Vers Coffee. Once Natasha exited Phil’s office soon after, both artists left, happy with the outcome of both their meetings.

Brie and Steve were sure they wouldn’t be able to sleep that night.


	3. Spontaneous

By lunchtime, Brie didn't even notice the day go by. She vaguely remembered drinking a coffee and petting George in the morning, but did she even do any work? If anyone asked her, she couldn't tell if she had even made a single photocopy. The only thing on her mind all morning was a pair of blue eyes that she was dying to see again. 

At midday, she was just finishing writing down some appointment details for a customer, when out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Steve leaving his studio and walking towards the office. She has been so focused on that shop, she could probably tell how many customers they had that day if she concentrated hard enough. 

Steve held the door open for the lady that had just left the reception desk and stepped inside with a blinding smile on his face. He kept his hands in his jacket pockets and looked around awkwardly, as if expecting Phil to come out and ask what his intentions were with his receptionist. Brie felt a bit relieved that she wasn’t the only one who was nervous before their lunch date. She could barely believe she was going on a date with him in the first place.

“Ready to go?” Steve asked and Brie was out of her seat and grabbing her purse and jacket in record time.

He held the door open for her as well and she had to bite her tongue before she _ awww _ ed out loud. She opted for a smile and a shy _ Thank you _ as she passed him. On their way to Vers Coffee, Brie shoved her hands in her pockets, mimicking Steve’s awkward posture and asked about his day. Judging by his vague answers and repeated shrugs, she came to the conclusion that he was just as distracted as she’s been all morning. It made her feel warm all over and she blushed at the thought of _ gorgeous and adorable Steve _ being distracted by her. She hoped he didn’t mess up anybody’s tattoos, because that would be a disaster.

No matter how much she fought it, Brie's smile would not leave her face, even after they entered the coffee shop and found themselves a small table in the back. They were lucky to even find a seating spot, as Vers was busy during lunch time. Brie saw the baristas working behind the bar, pumping out order after order and the servers buzzing from table to table, taking sit-in orders and bringing them out. Her and Steve entered the awkward “beginning of the date and intense study of the menu” phase, when a tall boy appeared at the table.

“Rogers! Good to see you!” He greeted Steve with a pat on the shoulder and turned his whole attention to Brie. “And you must be the prinzessa I’ve heard of!” The boy’s accent grew thicker around the foreign word and Brie looked up at him in surprise.

“The what now?” She giggled, looking between Steve and the boy. 

He seemed oddly familiar, but Brie was sure she’s never met him before. She didn’t tend to frequent the coffee shop that was so popular amongst her coworkers, mostly because she preferred to save money by making her own lunches at home. The boy was tall, maybe as tall as Steve, his hair was a mess of white and gray, that made his blue eyes stand out. He had a smirk on his face, which seemed like a permanent feature.

"It means princess in his mother tongue." Steve muttered, clearly not happy with the attention the server was giving Brie.

"You heard of me?" Brie looked up at the boy, who was definitely checking her out at that point. This was just plain awkward, but with Steve sitting next to her? She just felt uncomfortable. She just wanted to place her order and enjoy her break with her date.

"His sister, Wanda, works at the studio." Steve’s tone was growing more and more irritated by the minute and Brie worried that their date would be ruined any moment now.

"Yes, Wanda said you are very nice but she forgot to mention you are very beautiful." The boy sighed and Brie has _ had _it.

“_ Pietro _ \- “ Steve growled, shooting the boy the most furious look Brie has ever seen, but she cut him off before he could say anything else.

"Can we place our order, please? Our lunch break will be over in forty five minutes.” Brie willed her voice to remain firm, mimicking the tone Melinda took on sometimes when a client was being insufferable. She turned to the menu sheet in front of her, in search of something good to eat. She could feel Steve’s eyes on her and she hoped he wasn’t put off by the way she spoke.

Pietro cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "Right. What can I get you?" He took their order of coffees and sandwiches and went away as quickly as he appeared. 

Brie sighed and turned to Steve, his face hard to read.

“I’m sorry I spoke to your friend like this. He irked me.”

He leaned closer and a curious glint appeared in his eyes. He looked almost… impressed.

“Don’t worry about Pietro, the little troublemaker will get over it. I should be the one apologising.” He grinned when she shrugged the incident off.

Brie propped her chin in her palm and locked eyes with Steve. "You've told people about me?"

Steve felt like a deer caught in headlights, and he could bet he looked like one too. It’s not like Brie was one of his favourite topics to discuss with Wanda these days. Not at _ all _. Or that she was the one thing Bucky kept bugging Steve about almost constantly. Steve cleared his throat and tried to sound nonchalant and completely innocent. 

"Well, you work across the street, can't really keep you a secret even if I wanted to." 

"And what have you been telling people about me?"

"That you're nice..." He muttered.

"That all?" Oh she was _ not _letting go. 

_ Fine then _, Steve thought. He mastered his best smirk and gave her what she wanted. "Maybe I mentioned that you're pretty."

With a giggle, Brie made herself comfortable in the chair and tried to hide her blush from Pietro who had come over with their food.

Steve cleared his throat again, hoping that would put his thoughts and words in the correct order. He wanted to ask so many questions but he wasn't sure where to start, he was way out of his game.

"So, how did you end up working for Coulson?"

"Oh, he's a friend of my mom's and he offered me the job when I quit college." Brie answered as she stirred in some sugar in her coffee.

"Really? What were you studying?"

"Art history." She smiled shyly and shrugged. "It just became to expensive, you know."

"Yeah, I get it. So what do you like the most? Art, I mean."

"Oh, everything, really. I don’t think we have enough time to get into it all, but I guess I’d pick paintings. When I have time I often go to a museum or a gallery. There's always so many interesting exhibitions around the city." Brie tried to keep it short and sweet. There was always time to get to know each other better later, after all, right?

"I used to do that a lot when I was younger." Steve sighed, as if recalling a fond memory. Seeing as he drew a lot, Brie did imagine he would be interested in seeing other people’s work too.

"You're probably too busy these days, huh?"

"Yeah, sometimes. I usually just go out to hang out with my friends."

"We could go together? There's a really cool exhibition at the Drawing Center in Manhattan next weekend. Wanna go?" So what if they were currently on a date and she was asking him on another? Brie decided from pretty much the first time she spoke to him that she wanted to spend more time with Steve. And if he wanted the same thing, then nothing wrong with making some weekend plans.

Steve wanted to say he'd follow her anywhere but he thought he might sound just a bit too clingy. "Sure, I'd love that." He smiled

As the date went on, they got more comfortable in each other’s company, and that wasn’t difficult at all. Talking got easy once they discovered they like a lot of the same artists and movies. Somehow topics jumped from one to the other, and with each one they found more things they had in common. Somewhere between the playful bickering over sci-fi franchises and them finishing off the pieces of raspberry cheesecake Petro brought over as an apology, Brie’s hand ended up in Steve’s and neither of them were interested in letting go.

"He was just this tiny shivering ball of fur and I just could leave him!" Brie cooed at the memory of the night she found George in a little box on the street.

"I bet George is grateful that you took him in." Steve wiggled his fingers where they were intertwined with hers

"Him? Nah, he's a noisy little pest." Brie giggled. "But I love him anyway. Do you have any pets, Steve?"

"No, I always wanted one though. I was a sickly kid when I was small so my mom didn't want me to get even worse in case I got allergies." He shrugged. “Nowadays I’d feel bad leaving it alone all day.”

"Maybe you should get a cat then, I know George sleeps all day long. You should come over and hang out with him as a test trial." She muttered the last part around a sip of her coffee, not really expecting Steve to pay enough attention to hear her.

She should’ve learned by then that Steve payed a lot of attention. "Just George?" He tilted his head, kind of liking the sound of her idea.

She shot him a playful look before finishing her drink. "Yeah, I'll leave you two to have some guy time."

_ _ _ _

"I had a great time, Steve." Brie beamed up at him as they slowly went back down the alley with their arms linked. "Maybe we should go out again?"

"How does a drink sound?" Steve grinned back. He didn't really feel like parting with her. The past hour was probably the best time he's had in months. 

"Tonight?" 

He shrugged. "Why not?"

Good question, Brie thought. Technically, they should at least wait till the next day, or maybe next weekend. That's how the usual dating etiquette went, right? Except Brie really didn't care for any dating etiquettes. She liked Steve and he seemed to like her too, so why should they wait? 

Talking was easy with Steve, he had a lot of interesting things to say, and was a good listener too. There was also the tiny detail of Brie being extremely attracted to him and the moment he turned his palm up for her to lay her hand in his, she knew she was a complete goner and there was no saving her. 

Even as they were walking back down the street, her pressed against his side, she couldn't stop thinking about how good his hands felt - soft and warm, but strong and firm. She wanted those hands all over her and she didn't really care enough to bother denying it. 

So really, all things considered, why not? 

"I'd love that, Steve." She grinned. "But let's not go to that place where Natasha got in a fight." 

Steve laughed, throwing his head back, and squeezing her hand lightly. "Hydra Bar? Absolutely not. Have you ever been to Nebula Club?" 

Brie shook her head, so he elaborated. "It's owned by one of my regulars, it's a great place. Space themed, they have this really good DJ, Rocket they call him. And their cocktail menu is ridiculous. I think you'll like it." 

"Sounds like a great place." Brie sighed at the realisation that they've already reached the office and it was time to return to reality. 

Steve didn't want to go yet. She was everything he wanted - sweet, adorable, inspiring and so funny. He couldn't get enough of Brie, which was why he invited her out again without even thinking it through. He just didn't want to part with her because everything seemed brighter and better with her around. He knew he was being cliché and overdramatic but he just didn't care. As long as she wanted to spend time with him, just like he wanted, he didn't care about anything else. 

But unfortunately neither of them could give up on reality and their jobs and it was time to part. 

"So… I'll see you later?" Brie said in a small voice. 

Steve grinned. No reason to sulk around when they were going to see each other again in a few hours. He took hold of her hand that was resting on his forearm and lifted his to his lips. The longer he let his lips linger on her skin, the deeper her blush grew. Steve was sure he's never seen a prettier sight. 

"I'll see you later, Brie." He said before he let her step back inside Coulson & Co. 

_ _ _ _

The waiting room was empty when Brie came back from her lunch date with Steve, just as she expected at this time of the day. Nobody liked seeing lawyers right after lunch. Her mind wandered to the selection of teas Leo kept stocked in the break room and she would have beelined for that specific wooden box if two figures dressed in black didn’t startle the life out of her.

“Phil! Melinda! You scared me! Why are you sitting there like creepy mannequins?” Brie panted as her hand flew to her rapidly beating heart.

The pair stood off the couch they were sharing and moved closer to Brie, trapping her against one of the fake plants that attempted to make the place look homey. They stood in front of her without a word, arms crossed on their chests and stared Brie down. Was she late? No, she kept an eye on the clock on her phone the entire time, explaining to Steve that she would get in trouble if she’s late. He understood, of course, that’s how sweet he was. So no, she wasn’t late, in fact, she still had about five minutes left - just perfect to make that tea she was craving.

“Am - Am I in trouble?” Brie stammered, not really sure what was happening. Phil and Melinda could look very scary when they wanted to and she was starting to feel very cold.

“How was your date, Brie?” Phil asked in a tone that definitely belonged in a courtroom.

Brie swallowed thickly. “Good?”

“You don’t sound very certain.” Melinda spoke finally, after a careful analysis of Bries body language, which Brie was sure fully showed how stressed she was at the moment.

“You two are scaring me!” Brie’s voice was almost a whine. She did not take well to being scared, she hated it and she couldn’t understand why the other two always had to be so menacing. “Stop staring me down!” 

“We will not interfere in your personal life, Brie. But if that boy does anything at all to hurt you, I will literally cu - “ Melinda’s voice was getting increasingly heated with each word and Brie genuinely feared that one wrong move and Steve would end up a victim of her wrath. 

Now she understood their menacing demeanor. They were being protective of her, even if it sort of felt like she was the one being threatened.

“_ Mel _ ! No! No, he’s nice! Please, calm down, he’s so nice, I swear.” Brie flailed her hands in panic. “He’s _ really _nice.”

The pair narrowed their eyes at her, as if trying to detect a slither of a lie, but when they found none, they took a step back and Brie felt like she could finally breathe again. 

"Let me know if he does something wrong." With that, Melinda disappeared back in her office. 

Brie looked at Phil, who was now beaming, strangely enough. 

"Steve seems like a good guy. I'm glad you had fun." He patted her shoulder and left her standing there, trying to recover from the whiplash she got for what just happened.

_ _ _ _

It was a big mistake on Steve's part to not pay attention to his surroundings as he walked inside the Howling Commando. His satisfied and overjoyed smile was slapped off his lips the moment he stepped through a door, as a throw pillow hit him in the face with a soft thud. 

"Hand? Did you seriously just kiss her hand?" Bucky yelled from Steve's couch.

"We went on one short date, Bucky, what did you expect?!" Steve yelled, throwing the pillow back at Bucky. He usually did not raise his voice, not even at his annoying almost-brother, but Bucky really ruined the mood just now. 

"What are you, a hundred? You should be out there kissing her stupid!" Bucky pointed out the window in frustration, as Wanda's giggles kept growing louder. 

"I'm not gonna swallow her tongue after one date, Bucky!" 

"You disgust me. Hand!" Bucky got off the couch and strolled towards the backroom, as if he was truly offended by what he witnessed. 

"Bucky, c'mon!" Steve called after him throwing his hands in the air. 

"Don't talk to me." Bucky answered in a perfect heartbroken voice. 

Wanda was close to falling off her chair from laughing. The two men always bickered in a weirdly couple-like manner, over the dumbest things, later pretending to be mad at each other, only to "make up" over a beer. 

_ _ _ _

The front door to Brie's apartment slammed hard against the wall, as she stormed inside, panting from how fast she ran from the bus stop. "George, _ holy fuck _!" She yelled when she noticed the startled orange tabby on the couch. “You will not believe what happened today!” She exclaimed as she took her shoes off and dropped her purse on the coffee table.

Brie dropped herself on the sofa, George immediately jumping in her lap and purring loudly, happy that someone will finally feed him something that isn’t dry food.

“Do you remember Steve?” She asked, as if the cat had any idea what she was talking about. “We went out! He was so sweet, George, oh my god!” She squealed.

“But guess what, Georgie! We’re going out tonight!” The cat meowed in annoyance. Why was this human talking so much and not feeding him? He was going to die of starvation while she keeps talking! “I need something to wear!”

A few hours later, after feeding George, eating a snack and showering, Brie was drowning under a pile of clothes. She had no clue what to wear, and George was utterly unhelpful in the decision making. 

“George, seriously. One blink. A wave of the tail. Something! Give me a reaction you hairy demon!” Brie whined, as she held up two dresses for the cat to see. George simply jumped off the pile of clothes on her bed and walked to the couch for a nap.

“Right. _ Go fuck yourself, Brie _.” She grumbled in a mocking voice she always used to express her cat’s supposed thoughts.

Brie started considering to cancel the date with Steve and wallowing in misery for the rest of the night, but her phone ringing pulled her out of her thoughts. She ran to the coffee table and pulled it out of her purse, a familiar face of a brunette smiling up at her.

“Brie, where are you? We’re about to start the movie!” Skye demanded on the other side of the line.

_Oh shit _, she forgot about the movie night Skye had invited her to. “Hey, Skye. This is gonna sound awkward and terrible, but I kind of…. forgot.”

“You forgot movie night?! We do it every month!” Skye sounded hurt by Brie’s actions and she felt like a horrible, horrible friend. She hoped her friends would understand if she explained.

“I’m sorry, I know. Look, I’ll be honest with you. I have a date.” Brie thought ripping the band aid off in one go would be less stressful for everyone involved, but she did not expect shocked yelling through the phone.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HAVE A DATE?!” Brie moved the phone away from her ear before Skye’s scream could deafen her.

“WITH THAT STEVE GUY?!” Jemma was yelling as well, which didn’t make sense because she knew about the date. Brie figured she might already be tipsy and forgetful.

“Who’s Steve?” Leo’s confusion ended the chain reaction and finally Brie felt like she could explain everything to her friends.

“Yeah, he asked me out when we were coming back from lunch.”

“Hold on, hold on, you went out for lunch with him today?” Skye asked, her voice going up an octave by the end of the question.

“Yeah?”

“Dude, you gotta slow down.” Skye laughed.

“But I want to go out with him!” 

“Stop making decisions with your pussy, Brie!” Skye scolded her, two loud gasps sounding in the background.

“First of all - I'm offended. Second - watch your tongue in front of the kids. And third - have you _ seen _ the guy? You can't blame me for maybe being _ a bit _ excited.”

Skye laughed her most sarcastic laugh. “You mean horny?”

“Maybe... Anyway, I need help!” Brie quickly pushed the conversation towards the problem at hand - the outfit for the night. She wanted something cute, comfortable and not too flashy, but not too casual either. 

Three shots on Skye’s side and half a cup of coffee on Brie’s side, the decision fell on a simple black knee-length dress, black ankle boots with a low heel and a denim jacket. By the time she was dressed, Brie felt like she looked a bit too casual for a club date, but she didn’t have enough time to dig through her wardrobe for the fifteenth time that night. She had about half an hour before Steve showed up, so she quickly went about making her hair look presentable and putting on some light makeup.

She tried to move around and making sure George’s bowls were full without getting his hairs all over her dress, but that turned out to be impossible, since Mr Hairy suddenly decided tonight was cuddle night. She managed to distract him with a toy just long enough for her to run a lint roller all over herself.

When the buzzer sounded, announcing Steve’s arrival, Brie fell into a panicked but excited state of squealing and running around the apartment to collect her things. 

One last look in the full length mirror to make sure she looked presentable and appropriately cute, Brie grabbed her purse and left. Even locking the door felt like a test of her patience, and the moment that was done, she practically flew down the stairs.

Only a few steps from the main entrance stood Steve, dressed in dark jeans, a black shirt and a leather jacket - he immediately took Brie’s breath away. She jumping in his arms and hugged him tightly. She was afraid she would faint when not only did he hug her back with just as much force, but also leaned in to kiss her cheek and let his lips linger on her skin for just a few seconds. That’s when she noticed that not only did he look stunning, but he smelled delicious too - of cologne and mint, probably a body wash. 

“Hey, sweetheart.” He breathed as he pulled away to look at her. He pulled her hand up and had her twirl slowly, a low whistle leaving his lips in appreciation. “You look beautiful.”

Brie blushed at his words. “Thanks. You look handsome, too.” She noticed he was holding something behind his back. “What’s that?”

“Oh. That’s for you.” He held up a black helmet for her to see. Suddenly, Brie regretted opting for a dress, she was sure she would end up freezing and flashing everyone on the street.

Immediately noticing the uneasiness on her face, Steve hesitated. “If you don’t like bikes, I’ll just leave it parked here and we’ll take a cab. What do you say?”

“What? No no, it’s okay. I’m just worried I’ll flash people.” She smiled at him sheepishly as she pulled on the hem of her dress, making him laugh.

“Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out. Come on, I’ve had a table reserved for us.” He pulled her under his arm and towards the bike, which she now saw was quite an impressive beast. Brie knew nothing about bikes, but Steve’s was certainly nice.

Once they got to it, Steve turned around and took the helmet from Brie’s hands. He tucked her hair behind her ear, a cute giggle escaping her at the little gesture, and carefully helped her put the helmet on. He swung his leg over the bike and turned around to hold Brie’s hand as she climbed on behind him. She tucked the dress around her thighs as best as she could, making sure the wind wouldn’t expose her underwear to anyone else on the street.

“Hold on tight, Brie.” She scooted closer to Steve and wrapped her arms around his waist, tight enough so she felt safe but not enough to make breathing difficult for him. 

Steve was excited for the short drive to Nebula’s to end quickly and for them to be able to enjoy each other’s company again, but the moment he felt her warmth wrap around him, he kind of wished he could cancel everything and just spend the night driving around with her hands on him.


	4. Two hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter, full of goodness and kissing and clinginess and the smut is here.

From the street, Nebula Club didn’t stand out from others. A simple black door, a buff, scary looking security guard in front of it, and a blue neon sign with the club’s name and a single star was hung right over it. After greeting the guard, Drax, who seemed to be another customed of Steve’s, they walked inside what looked more like a spaceship than a club.

The short corridor leading to the main floor was cut in smaller sections by several neon-lit dividers running along the walls, each of them in different shades of blue. It sort of reminded Brie of the corridors of USS Enterprise except less sterile looking and more aesthetically pleasing.

That corridor alone had her smiling, but once Steve pulled her out to the main floor, her jaw dropped. Above the dance floor hung a massive saucer, it’s edges decorated with blue light bulbs. It was truly impressive and Brie appreciated the sentiment of the prop. The walls of the club had more lights on them - neons, fairy lights, screens displaying ads and parts of music videos. The people filling the dance floor and tables were equally as interesting with their intricate clothes, some even dressed in what looked very much like cosplay costumes, a variety of hair colours and styles Brie’s Instagram feed couldn’t even dream of, and it seemed like there was glitter everywhere for some reason.

If it wasn’t for Steve holding on to her hand and gently stirring her through the crowd towards the bar, Brie would’ve probably stood there in the middle and just watched and enjoyed the otherworldly atmosphere.

Whoever was responsible for designing the interior didn’t spare any talent on the bar. It was an elaborate work of art made of neon lights, overhead multi-coloured round lightboxes and backlit menu boards. Brie didn’t notice her mouth has been open in awe the entire time until Steve’s fingers brushed against her jaw and she snapped it shut, sheepishly looking up at him, hoping he doesn’t mind her going full geek on him.

“I take it I was right to bring you here.” He smiled at her, helping her up on one of the high barstools.

“I’m never leaving. I live here now.” Brie said, completely serious.

Her expression made Steve laugh so hard he bumped into the person behind him when he tilted his head back. Brie quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him closer to her before he got in any trouble, and they both apologised to his accidental victim.

Steve turned back to her and he was a big fan of how close to Brie he was now. Maybe he should bump into more people? He probably looked like a complete fool, shamelessly giving her what Wanda had informed him is called the “heart eyes”, his hand on her cheek, gently stroking the soft skin with his thumb. Brie obviously didn’t mind, she leaned her face into his touch and smiled up at him.

It was too bad their moment was interrupted by the owner of the club, Nebula, a tall, baby-faced woman with a toned body and gaze that seemed to look straight into one’s soul.

“Well if it isn’t Steve Rogers!” She greeted her favourite Howlie with a warm smile.

Steve dropped his hand from Brie’s face and let it rest on her waist. “Hey there, Nebula. How are you doing? Healing well?” Only when he pointed at the woman did Brie notice the big blue rose covering the side of her shaved head.

“Healing like a dream, as usual.” Nebula waved her hand, obviously not worried about it at all. Judging by the multiple other pieces of art decorating her skin, Brie figured the woman must be very familiar with the healing process. “And who’s this?” Nebula jerked her head towards Brie, eyes curious.

“I’m Brie.” She smiled shyly now that all attention was on her. Nebula seemed friendly, but still sort of intimidating in a way Brie couldn’t exactly explain. Maybe it was the all-leather ensemble that made her look more like an inter-galactic villain warrior than a friendly local bartender? Nah, that was just silly.

“Oh yeah, Bucky mentioned you! Nice to meet you!” She gave Brie the most charming smile, then offered her handshake, which was a lot firmer than Brie expected, but it sort of gave her a sense of safety. 

“Now, what I can get you two to drink?”

They picked their drinks off the mocktail menu - Steve, obviously because he was driving, and Brie decided alcohol was not a good idea, given as she was already nervous. No need to drink too much and make a fool of herself. Plus, driving the bike with Steve and the surprise of him taking her to such an amazing place, and then looking at her that way? She felt light-headed enough as is. 

After Nebula slid they drinks over the bar to them, Steve offered to carry them and lead Brie to the booth he had booked for the evening. Not wanting to get lost in the crowds, Brie trailed closely behind Steve and made a point to hold on to the edge of his shirt, as childish as it seemed. Once they reached the booth, Steve set the drinks down and grabbed Brie’s hand that was clutching his shirt. He lifted it to his lips, left a soft kiss on her knuckled and pulled her to sit down in the booth.

Only then did Brie notice that their booth was all the way in the back, last in a row of identical booths, giving them plenty of privacy, unlike their lunch date. The music wasn’t as loud there either, giving them a chance to have a conversation without needing to yell at each other. 

The booth was a lot more simple than the rest of the club, dark blue leather U-shaped couch, simple black round table. It was separated from the next booth by a curtain of what looked like fake vine, and the wall above the couch was decorated with neon lights in the shape of stars. 

“So, what do you think?” Steve asked as he made himself comfortable on the couch, his jacket discarded next to him and the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows. He let one of his arms rest on the backrest behind Brie and it took exactly 105% of her self control not to immediately curl up to him. She did scoot a bit closer though, pretending that the closer proximity was necessary for her to hear him.

“This place is amazing, Steve! I can’t believe I’ve never heard of it before!”

“I’m glad you like it. You mentioned earlier that you like sci-fi movies, so I thought this could be right up your alley.” Brie was startled by Steve’s fingers gently playing with her hair, but she immediately relaxed into it, giving him a smile brighter than any neon light.

“It definitely is.” Not just the club, Steve was definitely up her alley as well.

The conversation flowed just as easily as it did in the morning, neither of them noticed when one mocktail turned into three and them gravitating towards each other. In no time, Brie was curled up against Steve’s side, looking up at him as if he had hung all the stars himself, and Steve’s arm was draped over her shoulders, his fingers tracing the most gentle patterns on her arm, goosebumps breaking all over her body. 

"What’s this one, then?” Brie pointed at the brown bird surrounded by red stars on the inside of Steve’s forearm. 

Somehow they ended up on the topic of tattoos and Steve was telling her about some of his, the stories behind them if they had any. 

“Ah, that.” He chuckled and tilted his arm a bit so she could see better. “That is something the four of us at the studio got for Bucky’s and Sam’s wedding.” Steve took his arm off Brie’s shoulders and guided her hand to touch the outline of the tattoo. “The bird is a falcon, which is Sam’s nickname, and the red stars match Bucky’s red star on his shoulder.” He explained as he lead Brie’s fingertips from star to star. 

“Don’t know much about birds and, no offence to Sam and Bucky, but that doesn’t look much like a falcon.” It really didn’t, it reminded her more of a brown baby eagle. 

Steve’s whole body shook with laughter and he put his arm back on Brie’s shoulders. “True, but we don’t say it to Sam or he’ll sulk forever." 

Brie watched as Steve fondly looked back the design, she was sure it carried a lot of good memories for him and his friends. Her finders wandered from line to line, from one tattoo to the other as she thought about how lovely it was of the Howlies to get matching tattoos for their friends’ wedding. A thought crossed her mind suddenly - would her and Steve ever get matching tattoos? 

_Wait_. They’ve only barely been on two dates and she’s already thinking about such things? Oh, she had it _extremely _bad. 

Her fingers paused at edge of the rolled up sleeve at his elbow and she pulled away with a shy "Sorry” . His skin was so soft, just a few old scars could be felt here and there, now covered with the intricate designs. Brie could spend hours just tracing her fingers along the dark lines and shadows. It didn’t seem like an appropriate activity for their first proper date though, so she let her hands fall to her lap, where she nervously played with the hem of her dress. 

Steve shifted closer to her on the leather couch, close enough that his cologne was the only thing she could smell. 

The hand she’s spent the last few minutes caressing, moved a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s okay, sweetheart.” Steve muttered, his voice was like warm honey, sweet and overwhelming and so, so inviting. 

She looked up at him just in time, a second before his face was an inch away and he was kissing her suddenly. It was just a peck and was over before she could even kiss him back, but the tingling feeling it sent down her spine made her shiver. 

Steve looked guilty. “I should’ve asked you, I’m so sorry. I won’t do it again." 

His worried apology made Brie smile, he was just too adorable for his own good. "Oh no, please do it again.” She closed the distance between them and only softly touched her lips to his, letting him kiss her back at his own pace. 

Steve kissed her slowly, as if testing the waters. Brie let her eyes slide shut and her palms rest against his chest, as one strong hand found its way to her hair. She sighed, happy to finally kiss this beautiful man that’s been on her mind for weeks. She could stay like this forever, if it wasn’t for the awkward angle that was making her neck hurt. 

She broke the kiss and shifted away for a bit, Steve looked alarmed as if she was rejecting him. As if she ever would! 

Brie swung her legs over Steve’s thighs and settled there, a pleased smile on her face and a look of pure shock on Steve’s. 

“Just getting comfy.” She grinned. Sitting like this, her neck wouldn’t be strained and she could easily put her arms around Steve’s neck, if she wanted to. 

Steve needed a second more to recover, surprise melting into pure adoration in his eyes. One of his hands landed on Brie’s lower back, pushing her closer, and the other on her knee, thumb stroking the skin. 

“This okay?” He breathed against her lips and she wasn’t sure what he was referring to but everything was very much okay, so she closed the tiny distance between them and kissed him like there was no tomorrow. And as far as the two of them were concerned, tomorrow could never come and they would still be content in their private bubble. 

Their kiss grew hungry, all teeth and tongue, until everything outside the booth was completely muted and the only thing they could hear was their pulses pumping in their ears. Brie was completely unaware of what her body was doing, where her hands even were. The only things that mattered were Steve’s lips on hers and his hand slowly travelling up her thigh, kneading the flesh and making her shiver with lust.

Steve’s low moan felt like a slap of reality, reminding Brie that they were heavily making out in a public place. With a gasp, she pulled away.

“Something wrong, baby?” Steve asked, chasing her lips, asking for more.

“I just remembered we’re in public.” Brie sounded panicked, but not really because she feared someone would see them but more because it surprised her how easy it was to get lost under Steve’s touch.

Steve chuckled and squeezed his hand on her thigh, which she now realised was very high up. A few more minutes of making out and his hand would probably end up under the light material - not that she would mind, but…public spaces.

Brie took in her disheveled state - her dress had ridden up, or rather was pushed by a certain someone, so high up her thigh, she could almost see her panties peeking out. With another gasp, she pulled her legs off Steve’s thighs and fixed her dress. She settled back on the couch next to him and noticed Steve was making a terrible attempt at stifling a laugh. 

“What are you so smug about?” She couldn’t help but grin at his state, which wasn’t much better than hers. His hair was a complete mess, his lips kiss swollen and red, cheeks pink and somehow two buttons of his shirt were undone. How did that happen?, she wondered. 

She combed his hair in place with his fingers, but didn’t bother fixing his shirt. Steve shrugged, his smile making two cute little dimples appear on his cheeks. 

“Nothin’ at all.” He leaned closer to her to peck her lips one more time. “I just like you a lot." 

"Oh yeah? Would’ve never guessed.” Brie giggled and stood up. “Come on!”

“Where are you going?” Steve asked but still grabbed her hand and let her pull him out of the booth. 

“Well, you brought me to a club, so let’s dance!" 

Despite DJ Rocket’s best efforts, Steve and Brie were both terrible dancers. Mostly they just swayed in the corner of the dance floor, stealing kisses here and there, not really caring about anything surrounding them. 

They made their way back to Brie’s apartment building past 2 am, giggling and swinging their connected hands between them. Neither has had even a drop of alcohol all night, but they both felt positively drunk off each other.

Brie climbed the two steps leading to the entrance, which made her slightly taller than Steve, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him close for what must have been their 50th kiss that night. When Brie pulled away for air, she didn’t really want to stop kissing Steve. She just wanted to keep kissing him until she couldn’t feel her lips anymore.

So she kissed his cheeks, and his nose, and his cheekbone, and his forehead and his - 

“Baby..” Steve called her attention. “Aren’t you tired, sweetheart? I don’t wanna keep you up too late.”

Brie shrugged. “It’s friday night. No work tomorrow.”

“I know, but - “

“Ah, I see how it is.” She said with a smirk. “You grope my ass in a club and now you wanna get rid of me, huh?”

He rolled his eyes at her antics. “Fine. But don’t text me complaining that you didn’t sleep well.”

Brie played with the fine, short hair at the back of Steve’s head while she thought of something.

“What’s that serious look?” He murmured, planting a kiss on her jaw.

“Wanna help with that?”

He furrowed his brows in confusion. “What?”

“Sleeping.” She smiled, blush spreading over her cheeks. “Do you wanna come in?”

Steve’s face went blank for a moment, before he pulled her closer and kissed her neck. “Only if you want me to.”

“Yeah.” Brie nodded, blindly fishing for her keys in her bag. “Yeah, I want you.”

_ _ _ _

_~Five months later~_

Brie was pulled from her dream by something tickling the inside of her thigh. Her sleepy brain couldn’t exactly register what it was, so she was surprised when she pulled the covers off her body, to find not a certain attention-hungry cat, but Steve grinning up at her, his lips still against her skin, softly kissing the marks he left there the night before. Just the sight of him between her thighs had her hot and bothered and she arched her back off the bed with a needy groan.

Steve nipped on her sensitive skin a few times before he grabbed her hips to pin them to the mattress and with a needy moan of his own, dived in. He ran his tongue along her slit, from her entrance to her clit, which he then swirled circles around. He immediately had Brie pleading, she still felt sensitive. Steve was in no hurry, it was still early morning after all. He went slow, dragging his tongue through her now soaked folds, giving her clit a few licks and sucks until she was a mess and her breathless moan turned to her usual babbling.

“Steve, baby, like that.” Brie moaned and it was music to Steve’s ear. “So good, baby.”

One of the many things Brie loved about Steve, was that he really loved eating her out. None of her previous partners was anywhere near as enthusiastic about it like him and could go on for quite a while until she actually had to scold him to finally get to it and fuck her. Just thinking about his lips on her made her shudder at any given moment.

Brie let her eyes slide closed and she relaxed back onto the pillows, enjoying the moment, as Steve’s warm palms slid against her skin, giving her those extra ounces of love.

Her pleasure was rudely interrupted by a heavy, hairy weight jumping on her chest, purring loudly and meowing out demands.

“George - ah, fuck - mommy’s busy right now.” She tried her best to make the cat go away, but every time she put him away or tried to push his obnoxious pink nose away from her face, he’d just get more insistent.

Steve started laughing at the scene before him, but he never did take his lips off Brie, and the vibrations against her pussy made her squirm even more, not helping the situation at all. Finally, she spotted the perfect solution - she grabbed one of Georges squeaky toys, that somehow found its way to her bedside table, squished it a few times to catch his attention and threw it towards the sitting area, George running off after it.

“I wish I had a door.” She sighed. Suddenly, she really hated open concept apartments. One of her hands landed in Steve’s soft, messy hair. “Maybe I should lock him in the bathroom when we have sex?”

Steve glanced behind him, where George seemed to be having the time of his life, pushing and chasing the toy around the room. “So he screams his head off? No way. Unless you’ve added noise complaints to your list of kinks.”

“Now, now, don’t get sassy on me, Steve.” She laughed and pushed his head lightly back to his previous task. Brie lifted herself slightly against the pillows, shifting to make herself comfortable, so she could keep her hand in Steve’s hair and so that the glorious sight that was him was not obstructed by anything.

As much as Steve loved giving her pleasure, she adored watching him and giving him praise for his talents.

“So pretty like this, Stevie.” She murmured, raking her fingers through his soft locks.

He moaned, and pushed his head against her hand, loving her touch. He had one of her thighs held to the mattress, stroking the skin with his thumb, and the other over his shoulder. He lifted his hand to that leg and as he teased her entrance with his tongue, slowly, just the way she liked it, he dragged his nails against the sensitive back of her thigh, making Brie shake from pleasure and her eyes roll to the back of her head. She knew she wouldn’t last long is he was playing his good tricks on her.

“Steve, baby, make me come, please..” She begged Steve and who was he to say no to her? 

He slowly entered one finger into her dripping core and she let out a happy little gasp that sent a shudder through him. He pumped it slowly a few times, then added a second finger when he felt Brie was ready for it, curling them up slightly and stroking her g-spot with every movement. That’s when Brie knew she was done for. His tongue drawing patterns against her clit, she didn’t have enough energy in her to hold back. A few more thrusts of his skilled fingers and his lips gently squeezing her clit were all it took for Brie to come with a groan. She went limp against the pillows, while Steve fucked her through her orgasm and kissed the soft skin of her stomach. 

While Brie was doing her best to calm her breathing, Steve carefully pulled his fingers out of her swollen pussy, and wiped them in the sheets, they needed changing anyway. With a pleased smile, he crawled up the bed and dropped himself next to Brie, pulling her close and kissing her shoulder.

“Did you like that, sweetheart?” He whispered against her skin. “Did you like how I devoured that pretty pussy of yours?”

He expected her to moan and ask for more, but instead, she broke out in giggles, hiding her face in her hand. Steve watched her scrunch her nose adorably, trying to control herself, but it seemed like that wouldn’t happen any time soon.

“Is my dirty talk that bad?” Steve pouted, feigning hurt.

She gasped and looked down at him with wide eyes. “No, baby! I’m sorry! Too many endorphins for early morning I think.” She kissed his forehead and he nuzzled his face in her neck.

“You’re the cutest girl in the world.” Steve sighed, only to make her giggle once more.

“Hey, come here, show me your face.” Brie nudged him and he lifted his head so she could see him. “You’re soaked, baby.” Brie pulled on the corner of the pillowcase and wiped Steve’s mouth of her juices.

“And whose fault is that, hm?” He kissed her lips, letting his body wrap itself around her. Brie put her arms around his shoulders and hugged him close, only humming in response.

“What was that for, anyway?” She asked as she played with the few strands of hair that liked to fall in Steve’s eyes.

“Do I need an ulterior motive to make my Brie feel good?” Steve smiled that boyish smile of his that made her knees weak. “I just wanted you to be relaxed today, sweetheart.”

“Oh yeah? So I behave later in the studio?”

“Yep.” The day has come when Brie would get her first tattoo.

She was still scared, she didn’t even have her earlobes pierced. She’s seen Steve and the others at work many times in the past months, so she knew the procedure and she knew there was nothing to be scared of, but she still couldn’t help it, no matter how many times Steve promised to take care of her.

The longer she stayed in Steve’s warm embrace, the more that fear faded, and she thought that maybe she’d be alright by the time her appointment came about. His fingers were drawing patterns on her skin lazily, only adding to the pleasant warmth from the morning sun shining through the window.

“Don’t you want me to return the favour?” Brie asked.

“Nah, maybe later. We gotta get ready for work.” He pecked her lips once more and hauled himself off the bed with a groan.

Brie was about to complain, but him sauntering off towards the kitchen, naked and glorious, gave her an excellent view of the best butt Brooklyn had to offer.

“Hey, Rogers!” She called, as she lay there lazily. He turned to see her smirking. “Nice ass.”

Steve swayed his hips playfully, another round of giggles coming from the bed. He made sure to avoid George who was in full killer mode with his toy now and Steve didn’t feel like getting his feet bitten again. Brie watched him for a bit as he moved around and got the coffee machine going, then decided a shower was definitely a good idea. 

Wrapped in her fluffy pink bathrobe, Brie was later pulled back in the kitchen by the smell of fresh grilled cheese. Oh, she was being spoiled today, Steve was definitely contributing to her cheese addiction. She found Steve with his hands on his hips, sighing in exasperation and trying to negotiate a truce with George.

“Look, if you stop biting me, I will buy you the most expensive cat food I find for a week.” He offered, only to be answered with a hiss and jump away from the annoyed cat.

Both Steve and Brie have tried their absolute best to make George feel at ease around Steve, they even asked the vet and multiple online forums for advice, but nothing ever helped. George just didn’t like Steve and no amount of treats or gentle words and pleading would change that.

Even five months into their relationship, and Steve spending plenty of time at her apartment, Brie’s cat refused to make him feel welcome. He’d hiss and swat at Steve, but he also refused to leave Brie’s side. Their (and the vet’s) theory was that George was simply jealous, since he had made it his life mission to interrupt any makeout session ever. George wasn’t growling anymore whenever Steve touched Brie, so she counted that as progress. Slow, but progress.

She slid up next to Steve, who was plating up her breakfast for her and grabbed her mug of coffee, which was calling her name very loudly. Brie sipped on the hot drink and let Steve get his own fill of morning kisses (something he definitely picked up from George). He held her arms and rubbed his thumbs on her soft skin, while he kissed her temples, the top of her head, her nose, and finally, when she lifted her face off the mug, he pecked her lips.

“I need to stop by my place to grab some things. I’ll see you later?”

“Appointment’s booked, baby.” She laughed. He was always so cute after waking up. And after what he just pulled, his cuteness factor skyrocketed.

One more kiss and off he went to the bedroom, in search of his clothes, which Brie was pretty sure she saw draped over the dressing table, where she’d thrown them last night. She settled against the counter, and nibbled on her toast as she watched Steve move around and admired how well he fit into her space.

George jumped on top of the counter, suspecting that whatever was on Brie’s plate must definitely be better than whatever Steve gave him. She snatched the plate away, before the cat got his orange hair all over her breakfast.

“Sort your double standards out, George. This was made by Steve too.” She grumbled. “Y’know, the two of you could be really good friends if you chilled for five minutes.” George meowed and jumped back down. He wasn’t getting any food from this traitor.

_ _ _ _

Exactly at five in the afternoon, Brie strolled inside the Howling Commando, giddy with excitement and very much ready for her appointment. Before leaving the office, she swallowed a painkiller, which according to some sources was supposed to help with the pain of getting a tattoo. Since she wasn’t sure how much it actually would hurt, she thought she’d try it, even if she didn’t exactly believe a little pill would make much of a difference.

Steve had assured her that the spot she picked wouldn’t hurt at all and he even went as far as demonstrating how it felt like to have the tattoo gun against her skin - by scratching her with a fork. For some reason Brie would never understand, the best analogy to getting tattooed, in Steve’s mind, was getting scratched with a fork. Brie still didn’t believe him at all, but it was hilarious watching him with that stupid fork in hand, in the middle of Vers Coffee, making a complete fool of himself, while Pietro and his boss, Carol, gave him confused and judgy looks.

Where a reddish-brown mess of hair usually poked out from behind the counter in the reception area, now a pair of black biker boots were propped on top of the dark wood, one crossed over the other. Their owner was too busy scrolling through his phone to react quickly enough to Brie’s oncoming attack.

“Hey, Bucks!” She yelled as she slapped his legs off the counter, sending them flying straight to the floor and Bucky huffing in surprise as he tried to get hold of anything that would keep him on the chair.

“And so, the prodigal daughter arrives.” He sighed dramatically, but held up his hand for a high-five. “ ‘Sup, Brie.”

She lifted a brow at his unusual choice of a nickname. “Have you been reading weird old books again, Buck?”

“Hey, you know I need to change it up sometimes. Not all of us can sit through watching Star Trek fifteen times.” He snickered as he avoided the swat coming at him.

“Yes, because reading the same book fifteen times is so much different.” Brie scoffed and pulled on the collar of his bomber jacket to get him off the chair. “Come on, let’s get to it.”

“Look at you all confident!” Bucky chuckled as he followed her to the backroom.

“I’ll probably freak out the moment I see the gun, so don’t worry, you’ll get your fill of laughs.” Brie grinned back at the brunet.

In the far corner of the room, hunched over his desk and gently erasing something off a piece of paper, sat Steve, sweater sleeves pulled to his elbows and bottom lip bitten in concentration. Brie walked over, making sure her steps were loud enough so as not to startle him.

“Hey babe, how was your day?” She whispered in his ear before kissing his cheek and wrapping her arms around him. She could see how stiff his shoulders were, a clear sign of how tired he was. 

He sighed and rested his cheek against Brie’s. “Busy. Nat’s still down with the flu.”

“At least she’s got Helen looking after her.” Brie murmured. It wasn’t just that Steve was stressed with the extra work due to Natasha’s illness - the biggest stress factor was that he was worried about the one who was like a sister to him. 

“Yeah, Miss Snotty has it good.” Bucky chuckled.

“There are perks to dating the best doctor in the city, huh?” Brie grinned at him, as she felt Steve let out a low chuckle.

“Alright, girlie, quit stalling. Get over here.” Bucky patted the chair in front of Steve’s desk. “Stevie, you got that design ready?” 

Brie untangled herself from Steve and went off to hop on top of the big leather chair, next to which Bucky had already settled himself on a stool and was getting some supplies out of the cupboard.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll just go get the stencil done.” Steve went off to the reception area, where their printers were hidden under Wanda’s desk.

“Alright, I know you’ve been here a hundred times and knowing Steve, he’s drilled the process into your head already, but I’ll just talk you through it again, yeah?” Bucky waited for Brie to nod and pulled his disposable black gloves on.

“Okay, so first, I’m gonna clean the area and run a razor over the skin to make sure there’s no hair at all. Show me where do you want you tattoo.” He scooted closer to her.

Brie pulled the sleeve off her shoulder and showed him the exact spot on her arm, right where it meets her chest above the armpit. “Right here.”

By the time Steve was back, stencil paper carefully held up between his thumbs and pointer fingers, Bucky was already finished with the first part of the preparation. Bucky took the design from Steve with equal care, draped it where Brie had shown him and gently rubbed his palm over the paper to let the ink transfer on top of the skin. 

Once the paper was peeled off and Brie could see the outlines on her skin, she was so excited, she wagged her feet like she was an excited puppy wagging its tail. She knew this wasn’t even the beginning, but already seeing the pattern on her skin made her happy. 

Bucky handed her a handheld mirror so she could have a better look. “How’s this? Is the placement alright for you?" 

Brie examined the design in the mirror and couldn’t believe how pretty it looked. Steve had drawn it for her at least two months earlier and it’s been hanging on the fridge in her kitchen ever since, but somehow it looked even better in the skin. Like it was always meant to be there.

It was a simple enough design, a solid black heart with a little pink flower on the side, a couple of leaves and smaller flowers to complete it. Nothing too complicated but it meant the world to Brie, simply because Steve had drawn it just for her. Friends had always told her that tattoos should mean something important, and even though she didn’t personally deem that rule necessary, it still felt wonderful to have a little piece of her beloved boyfriend’s with her. She couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional the longer she looked at it.

“That’s perfect, Buck.” She handed him the mirror back with a grin, then looked up at Steve, who was quietly standing next to her and fighting his own emotions from making him a weepy mess. 

As Bucky turned away to get his ink cartridges and gun ready, Brie reached out to lace her fingers with Steve’s. It was sweet to see him so emotional as well, his eyes were rimmed slightly pink, indicating he really was very touched by this whole situation. He was extremely proud too, that she asked him to design her first tattoo and that she trusted him an Bucky to get it done. 

Once he was ready, Bucky turned back to her and glanced at their hands. “You two are so cute, I’m gonna gag.” He stuck his tongue out as if he really was feeling sick, making the other two erupt in laughter.

“Okay, Brie, what’s the most important thing to do now?” Bucky asked in a voice that reminded Brie of her first grade teacher.

“Relax and remember to breathe normally.” She repeated the mantra the boys have been telling her for weeks after she announced she wanted a tattoo.

“Good girl. Let’s get started then. Remember that it’s okay to tell me to stop if the pain is too much.” Brie nodded and relaxed against the backrest.

Steve pulled out another stool for himself side and held her hand. It felt a bit silly to be holding hands, as if this was some extremely stressful situation, but he’s grown protective of her and if at any point the pain was to much for her or she needed a distraction, he wanted to be there for her. He remembered getting his first tattoo, when him and Bucky snuck out of home when they were barely fifteen and sixteen and got their first tattoos from a befriended artist. He was skin and bone back then and it hurt like hell, and it was Bucky who was holding his hand through the whole thing.

The familiar buzzing of the tattoo gun filled the room. “Ready?” Bucky asked and once Brie gave him a thumbs up and nodded, he got to work.

Brie was used to seeing Bucky’s fun and playful side whenever she visited the studio or they all went out. Despite him and Sam expressing no interest in expanding their already small group of close friends, ever since her and Steve started officially dating, both men have treated her like their little sister. Sam and Brie quickly found a common language over their love for all sorts of movies, while her and Bucky seemed to function on the same wavelength, be it their weird food preferences or knowledge of online memes.

Now a different side of Bucky was out, one she wasn’t very used to and she found very fascinating. The usually chatty Bucky was now quiet and fully concentrated on his job, only occasionally asking Brie if she was alright in a soft voice. He worked fast but with precision, and so in less than an hour, Brie’s first tattoo was finished. She hated to admit it to Steve, but it did sort of feel like being scratched with a fork.

Soon Brie was standing in front of the tall mirror at the back of the room and admiring the piece of art on her skin. Steve stood behind her, arms wrapped around her waist as she couldn’t take her eyes off the fresh ink.

“Do you like it?” He whispered against the skin of her shoulder. He kissed her softly, proud of her that she didn’t complain even once during the session.

“It’s beautiful.” Brie kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Steve.” 

Bucky cleared his throat from his seat, demanding his well deserved praise and Brie giggled and met his eyes in the mirror. “And thank _you_, Bucky.”

Bucky cleaned up his station and prepared fresh supplies and called them over, as it was now Steve’s time to get his tattoo. “Alright, loverboy, hop on.”

Since Steve drew Brie’s tattoo, he had suggested she does the same for him. At first she was hesitant, as she didn’t think she was good at drawing and just the thought of anyone having one of her doodles tattooed on them scared her. But Steve insisted, so once they both decided they wanted hearts, she had filled an entire page with various doodles and gave it to Steve to pick one himself. She expected him to pick one of the simple and plain designs, but he surprised her by picking an outline of a heart with a smiley face inside. He said it reminded him of her smile and how happy she makes him, at which she swatted his shoulder and blushed an angry shade of pink.

Steve let go of Brie and plopped on the chair she occupied earlier. Bucky adjusted the armrest to be comfortable for Steve. He picked a spot on the outside of his left palm, right above his wrist and directly under his pinky finger. Brie thought it was a strange spot to pick, but he said that this way he would be seeing it all the time and that’s exactly what he wanted.

“Will you be gentle with me, Bucky?” Steve murmured, playfully batting his lashes while Bucky prepared the skin to be inked.

Bucky chuckled. “Oh, but I thought you liked it rough, Stevie.”

“Yeah, not the fucking needles though, jerk.”

“Jeez, whiny ass.” Bucky tsked mockingly and winked at Brie, making her laugh.

Steve’s tattoo took even less time than Brie’s, and in about twenty minutes, Brie had his hand gently held in her palms as she studied the little smiley heart.

“What do you think?” Steve asked, the grin never leaving his face since Bucky got the first lines done.

“I think your opinion matters more in this case.” She scoffed. “It’s you skin, after all.”

“Well, like I said before, I think it’s cute and I like it.” Steve leaned in to kiss her lips softly, smiling into the kiss when she rolled her eyes at him.

“Okay, before the two of you start a full-time makeout session in here, Steve make sure to tell her how to take care of the tattoo. I gotta go now or I’ll be late and never hear the end of it.” Bucky already had his hands washed and bag slung over his shoulder, checking his messages before he leaves.

“You got that family dinner with Sam’s mom tonight, don’t you?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, don’t wanna disappoint Mom. Last time I was late she had this pout on her face that haunted me for weeks. Never again.” Bucky shook his head. He stepped closer to them, patted Steve’s shoulder and leaned down to kiss Brie’s forehead.

“You take good care of yourself, Brie. I’ll see you soon.” He ruffled her hair, despite her protests and run off, only to disappear out the entrance without saying much else than yelling a “Bye!” before the door shut behind him.

Brie turned to Steve, smile still on her face. “Wanna head home and order pizza?”

“Can I have one more kiss before we go?” He whined, using his most dangerous weapon - the begging puppy eyes.

She sighed heavily, as if it really was an inconvenience. “I _guess_.”

_THE END_ :’)

**Author's Note:**

> I came up with this idea like 5 years ago and it was originally going to be an Utake (Tokyo Ghoul) story, but things didn't work out back then.  
Which is why Stevie ended up being Mr Sexy Tattoo Artist and I love him very much.


End file.
